The investigators hypothesize that participants in the worksite parenting program intervention will show significantly better parent-child communication than will participants in the no-treatment (wait-list) control group.

Measured using Parent-Adolescent Communication scales (including general communication and communication on sexual topics that the intervention covers) for both parent and child participants in pre- and post-assessments

Participants in the wait-list control group will not receive the intervention until after the 3-month follow-up assessment.

Experimental: Let's Talk Worskite Parenting Program

The Let's Talk Worksite Parenting Program is designed for Xhosa-speaking and Afrikaans speaking parents (separate sessions) with 11- to 15-year-old children. The 5-session program meets weekly for 2 hours. The program will include instruction on parenting skills and will cover topics relevant to promoting adolescent sexual health, such as; parental involvement; adolescent sexual behavior; HIV; violence; and alcohol/substance use. Parent participants will receive weekly exercises to help them practice their new skills at home with their child.

Behavioral: Let's Talk Worksite Parenting Program

The Let's Talk Worksite Parenting Program is designed for Xhosa-speaking and Afrikaans speaking parents (separate sessions) with 11- to 15-year-old children. The 5-session program meets weekly for 2 hours. The program will include instruction on parenting skills and will cover topics relevant to promoting adolescent sexual health, such as; parental involvement; adolescent sexual behavior; HIV; violence; and alcohol/substance use. Parent participants will receive weekly exercises to help them practice their new skills at home with their child.

Detailed Description:

In South Africa, >5 million people, including many adolescents, are living with HIV. Prevalence is increasing throughout South Africa, most precipitously in the Western Cape, the site of our proposed study. The investigators propose to pilot test a multisession worksite-based program to help parents learn how to take an active role in rearing sexually healthy youth. Our specific aims are to: (1) Culturally adapt our US-developed worksite-based program for parents of adolescents to the South African context; (2) Examine whether a worksite-based program for parents of adolescents in South Africa improves the parent-child relationship, including general parent-child communication and communication about sexual health and HIV risk-reduction, as perceived by parents and adolescents; (3) Explore program effects on parents' HIV testing and sexual behaviors; and (4) Explore program effects on theoretically important psychosocial mediators of behavior change (e.g., greater self-efficacy for refusing sex and using condoms, and more perceived disadvantages of unprotected sex). The proposed research is a unique opportunity to adapt and pilot test an innovative HIV prevention intervention that promotes the health of families in a culturally acceptable and sustainable setting.

The research is being conducted in three phases. In Phase 1, the investigators conducted formative qualitative interviews with South African community members who work with adolescents and parents, who work on HIV prevention, and who hold relevant positions at worksites. The investigators used this information from key community members to culturally adapt the program. In Phase 2, the investigators are conducting a process evaluation of one intervention group of 15 parents using qualitative debriefing interviews and quantitative data. In Phase 3, the current phase, the investigators aim to conduct a pilot intervention to refine the program even further and test the evaluation methods with 60 Xhosa and Afrikaans-speaking parents and their 11-15-year-old adolescents (who will participate in the evaluation but not the program). Their outcomes will be compared to a wait-list control group of 60 Xhosa and Afrikaans-speaking parents and their 11-15-year-old adolescents.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:

11 Years and older

Genders Eligible for Study:

Both

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Parents: Work for City of Cape Town; Are Xhosa-speaking or Afrikaans-speaking; Have a child between the ages of 11-15 (self report); Spend at least 3 days/week with their adolescents

Children: Eligible if they are between the ages of 11-15 (self report) and have a parent or legal guardian who works in the City of Cape Town who is enrolled in the program.

Contacts and Locations

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To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below.
For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01432756